Much can be said about the physical fitness benefits of mountain climbing and the thrills of cliff jumping, but when these similes are applied to our personal and national budgets there are damages to account and legitimate fears of financial abyss. Another benefit of mountain climbing is the vista afforded from the top that can bring clarity and perspective of one's position and an appreciation of the dangers of toppling from a lofty perch.

Such are the circumstances many face individually and all of us face collectively as residents of California and the United States as we consider the consequences of spending that exceeds income. While going into debt may be necessary in periods of emergency need, or justified when prudently investing in real estate and other large capital purchases, such periods should be both short lived and carefully managed to ensure fiscal fitness. Unfortunately for many personal houses and our state and national coffers, periods of debt have become the norm rather than the exception, and since the toll of servicing such debts grows exponentially, we are on the brink of bankruptcy and financial collapse.

When a wise person finds himself in a deep hole the first thing he or she does is to stop digging. Only by stemming the damage being done can one achieve balance and begin the process of reconstruction. So when debt mounts inexorably the only prudent course is to cut spending while pursuing all means to increase income. On a state or national level caution is required to keep from excessively slowing overall economic activity and sending our economies in self defeating death spirals as tax collections plummet and public assistance need soars. It is clear we are in quite a pickle, and it is essential to let cool minds and sound policy prevail as wisdom and discipline are applied.

Sadly the commodities of wisdom and discipline are in increasing short supply in our state and national legislatures where many members have made absolute partisan pledges and the focus is on the next election cycle rather than doing the difficult work of addressing years of misguided leadership and failure to pay the prices of our fiscal misdeeds. The problem is principally one in which our leaders are predisposed to dispense favor to win re-election at any cost, even when to do so pushes us ever closer to financial abyss. For this reason it is essential that we reform campaign finance practices as a necessary precursor to the pursuit of fiscal sanity. No longer can we reward financial malfeasance by allowing representatives to buy their seats ? it's time to impose strict limits and accountability on campaign spending to set the stage for how they manage public resources.

Granting corporations the unlimited ability to control the airwaves and thereby manipulate public sentiment toward political candidates does a great disservice to the principles of fairness and equal representation. Contrary to what Mitt Romney or the Supreme Court justices believe, corporations are not people deserving of free speech rights, instead they are regulated entities permitted to conduct trade in our public marketplaces. Unlike persons, corporations have no soul, no innate goodness or compassion, and are driven by only one objective ? self preservation. So, we get what we pay for, or allow others to pay for by abusing the public trust, and this is a very slippery slope when climbing mountains of public debt.

I say it is time to take our medicine, steel our nerves, and jump off the fiscal cliff. It may be painful once we hit the ground, but at least we can pick ourselves up as we have many times before, brush ourselves off, and begin rebuilding on a firm foundation. The fact is that our national economy is built on a house of cards, with a tax system so complex and full of loopholes that armies of accountants and lawyers aggrandize themselves and their clients at public expense, overlapping and inefficient public programs fail to meet simple needs, and cynicism infects almost every aspect of public policy. Pain and struggle are the well-springs of action and innovation, all of which are needed to propel and steel us as a state and nation while mountain climbing and cliff jumping.

----- Richard Mazzucchi is a retired research engineer specializing in energy efficiency and renewable energy. He has travelled extensively and now makes his home in Los Molinos, where he is striving to manifest a sustainable and spiritual lifestyle. He can be reached at living-green@att.net.